1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a femtocell and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus that provide a mechanism for enabling a user to initiate femtocell search at a desired point in time.
2. Description of the Related Art
With rapid advances in technology, early mobile terminals supporting only voice calls and short messaging have evolved into supporting various new functions, such as video calls, electronic scheduling, digital camera, the Internet. The user of a mobile terminal can now readily capture and store still images and moving images, and transmit the captured images to another mobile terminal.
In communication coverage areas, base stations are strategically arranged to support communication between terminals, and their coverage areas partially overlap to achieve a seamless service. However, a shadow area in which a communication service is not available can occur, for example, when a mobile terminal is located in a particular region such as the inside of a building or a canyon. In such area, base stations may be unable to locate the mobile terminal, thus unable to deliver the communication service to the mobile terminal.
Accordingly, there is a need to develop a method that enables a mobile terminal to search for, at a desired time point, a communication network from which the mobile terminal is to receive a communication service.